Revision as of 20:59, 21 March 2016

The Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon is a glossary of memes, nicknames, and neologisms created by Chinese netizens and encountered in online political discussions. The project is named in honor of the grass-mud horse (cǎonímǎ 草泥马), whose name sounds nearly the same in Mandarin as a vile curse and has become the de facto mascot of Chinese Internet users. Netizens use coded language to avoid outright censorship and allude to their desire for freedom of information and expression. They possess boundless creativity and ingenuity in the face of stifling government restrictions on online speech. By systematically documenting and interpreting the dynamics of censorship, domination, and resistance in Chinese communication and information networks, the Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the Internet's cultural, social, and political impact.

Rule and Law

Pinyin Index

About the Lexicon

Origin of the Grass-Mud Horse

In early 2009, a creature called the grass-mud horse debuted in an music video that became an viral hit. The "grass-mud horse" (cǎonímǎ 草泥马), whose name sounds nearly the same as "fuck your mother" (cào nǐ mā 肏你妈), was created to get around government censorship of vulgar content. The dopey alpaca rose to Chinese Internet stardom, its symbolism transforming along the way. Within weeks, the grass-mud horse became the de facto mascot of Chinese netizens fighting for free expression, inspiring poetry, photos, videos, artwork, clothing, and more. As one Chinese blogger explained, "The grass-mud horse represents information and opinions that cannot be accepted by the mainstream discourse, and the 'Song of the Grass-Mud Horse' has become a metaphor of the power struggle over Internet expression."

To the uninitiated, even those who can read Chinese, this coded language can be confounding. But to Chinese netizens, the terms often resonate deeply by expressing feelings about shared experiences that millions of people can immediately relate to. Despite their subversive beginnings, many of the terms have already become mainstream; a few have even been added to the authoritative Oxford Chinese Dictionary.

Building the Lexicon

All of the terms in the Lexicon were invented by netizens and circulated widely on websites inside China, not just by prominent bloggers or opinion leaders. For many of the terms, one cannot identify the original author or how exactly it originated. China Digital Times selects these terms from a variety of sources. We discovered many from a self-initiated online project of Chinese bloggers to select for the "words of the year in Chinese blogosphere." Others come from mainstream publications such as Southern Metropolis Daily or even the state-run Xinhua News Service, as well as from Chinese forums, Sina Weibo, and other microblogging platforms. The direct participation of Chinese netizens also yielded many terms after China Digital Times' Chinese site made the call for submissions public in June 2010.

The current list is by no means exhaustive, and new words are being created daily. But we hope this list will provide a glimpse into online political discourse and make it more accessible to non-Chinese readers.

How You Can Help

This is an ongoing open source collaborative translation program with submissions from volunteers and professional translators. What is currently published is just a seed that we hope to expand upon in coming months and years. If you are interested in participating in this project by submitting and/or translating terms, please contact our editors.

China Digital Times would like to express deep gratitude for the extraordinary work of our primary translator, who wishes to remain anonymous, and to Liz Carter for updating and expanding the entries.